Anyone been to Rome?!?

I've been three times and love love love it. Never pre-booked anything though just went with the flow. For the Vatican you can walk round and go into the basilica with relative ease. For the museum though you do need to plan. Not necessary to pre-book tho but just plan your time carefully. Check online though for what they do now as It's a good 8 years since I last went. Take good walking shoes, you'll walk for miles. Watch your purse and your bag. Lots of pick pockets around especially on the underground and buses. But enjoy. It's a marvellous city. Don't miss the Forum, directly opposite the colloseum. It's fascinating and has some stunning gardens and water features and ancient history. Street food is fab but look off the beaten track for great restaurants.

I lived in Rome for part of my masters degree. I absolutely love it! I never pre-booked anything but I don't know if it gives you a disocunt. The Vatican museums are free on the last Sunday of the moneth so if you're there then go on the Sunday although it will be busier. Keep a very close eye on your bag etc. as there are lots of pick pockets. Don't eat in any of the main squares as the food is for tourists so very expensive and not very good! All you have to do is walk 5-10mins in the back streets and the food is amazing.

We went back in 2011 & didn't pre book anything- but we did buy a 48 hour pass for the red open topped tour buses though as soon as we arrived. I forget their name but you'll definitely see them around (They were about 20euros each I think) I'm so glad we got them. We never waited more than 2/3 minutes for a bus, but generally there was always one available to hop onto. They were never crowded, we always had a choice of seats and you can just hop on or off as and when you like on an unlimited basis. It was a lovely way to see the city in a short space of time and they go to all the main tourist attractions. I'd definitely recommend them ?

We went about 5 years ago and didn't pre-book anything either. We saw most of what we could on foot but used the underground to get to the Vatican. I wish we'd had time to go in the Sistine Chapel so that's high on my list for our next visit.

I went in July 2012 with my sister but we pre-booked everything through tripadvisor but that's because I was a tad OCD as I wanted to make the most of my 21st birthday holiday.

In the week we where there we saw:

- The Vatican (Sistine chapel and st peter Basilica climbing to the top is a must its amazing up there)

- The Colosseum

- All the fountains (This was a day walking tour)

- The national Roman museum

- Roman forum and palatine hill

- Spanish steps

- Dinner cruise along the River Tiber

- Forum of Augustus

- Piazza del Popolo

- Museum and crypt of Capuchins

No word of a lie I came home 19lb lighter from the amount of walking we did... decent walking shoes are a must!! We found it very worth while buying a weeks metro pass so we could come and go as we pleased. Also we never ate in high tourist areas we went to back ally restaurants payed rock bottom prices and got traditional food the staff didn't speak a word of English but it was a fantastic experience.

This is the hotel we stayed at and I picked it because it wasn't in a highly touristy area and just around the corner is a fantastic strip of restaurants which really come to life at night they close the street off and line it with tables and music its something that has to be experienced.

http://www.eurostarshotels.co.uk/eurostars-roma-aeterna.html?gclid=CjkKEQjw75CcBRCz2LiEs5OPsZoBEiQADgUma61QJKNcNId0FPTf59KEzw12yOUrfejeX2d4pyjlQ1Lw_wcB